Illinois Democrats of the House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to anoint state Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D) as their next leader. This formally concludes decades of dominion by House Speaker Mike Madigan (D), who was sitting longer in his position more than any other state Speaker in the history of the United States.
Welch Elected as New Illinois House Speaker
Welch, who represents a suburban district east of Chicago, garnered the votes required to become Speaker after negotiating with state Rep. Jay Hoffman (D), who will hold a leadership post the following year.
The Illinois House elected its first Black Speaker to oust the longest-seated legislative leader in modern US history, picking Welch for the position and ousting Madigan following his implication in an ongoing bribery investigation.
Welch is has been a House veteran for eight years, hailing from the Chicago suburb of Hillside, reported Herald Sun.
Madigan had been a Speaker for 36 of the past 38 years. The vote on Sunday by members of the Democratic caucus underscored he lacked adequate support to keep the gavel. He then suspended his Speaker campaign the following day.
Members of the House had taken up nominations for the Speaker role on Wednesday afternoon. Welch obtained the nomination alongside the ceremonial nomination of the current minority leader, Republican Jim Durkin of Western Springs.
Welch emerged as the frontrunner on Monday following Madigan, who has been a lock in the said caucus for 18 terms.
Assuming Welch prevails in a floor vote as expected with his party dominating the House, he would be the first African-American Speaker in the history of Illinois.
Madigan failed in a test vote on Sunday to garner the 60 votes required for him to reclaim the gavel, reported Lompoc Record.
With the votes, House Speaker Mike Madigan's dominion over the House formally concludes.
According to Madigan in a statement, "It is time for new leadership in the House. I wish all the best for Speaker-elect Welch as he begins a historic speakership. It is my sincere hope today that the caucus I leave to him and to all who will serve alongside him is stronger than when I began," reported Daily Herald.
Seventy-eight-year-old Madigan was first inaugurated as a House member a half-century ago. He sought another term in his post, notwithstanding 19 members of his caucus declaring their opposition in the previous six months.
However, Madigan's allies and associates have increasingly been involved in a broad federal investigation into the lobbying practices of Illinois' largest utility, Commonwealth Edison. Many Madigan associates have been indicted of crimes, but Madigan himself has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
After coming up short of votes, Madigan's suspension of his campaign allowed lawmakers to consider other people instead of demanding a potentially drawn-out floor fight that would cripple all other business.
Madigan was identified last summer in a Justice Department probing as the beneficiary of a long-running bribery venture involving ComEd. It has since then yielded a ComEd executive's guilty plea and indictments of four others, including Madigan's closest confidante, and a $200 million fine on the utility giant.
